Extremists Are Praising Kanye West’s Antisemitism, Parler Acquisition
Article
Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, has publicly espoused numerous antisemitic and racist tropes in recent weeks. Extremists across the ideological spectrum have embraced his recent comments.
ADL Letter to Adidas Executives Regarding Kanye West
Letter
Kasper Rorsted
Chief Executive Officer
Thomas Rabe
Chairman-Supervisory Board
Adidas
World of Sports
Adi-Dassler-Straße 1
91074 Herzogenaurach
Germany
Dear Mr. Rorsted and Mr. Rabe:
In light of Kanye West’s increasingly strident antisemitic remarks over the past few weeks, we were disturbed to learn that Adidas plans to continue to release new products from his Yeezy brand without any seeming acknowledgement of the controversy surrounding his most recent…
Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, has recently used his media presence and social influence to espouse antisemitic tropes about Jewish intimidation, power and control.
Remarks by Jonathan Greenblatt for the ADL-McCain Institute Event: Protecting American Democracy
News
Good morning, everyone. I am so glad to be with you all here in Washington D.C. and to join the McCain Institute and Dr. Farkas for this event on one of the most important issues facing our country today. I would like to thank our guest speakers, especially Congressman Jamie Raskin for joining us today, as well as everyone here in person or tuning in virtually.
I can think of no better way to honor the legacy of Senator McCain, a man who dedicated his life to public service…
Letter to the New York Times Regarding Recent Article on Linda Sarsour and Russian Disinformation
Media Watch
To the Editor:
The Times’ piece on Linda Sarsour and the efforts of Russian troll farms to disrupt the Women’s March in 2017 raises important points about disinformation campaigns and their harm, and the malicious intent of the Russian government (“How Russian trolls Helped Keep the Women’s March Out of Lock Step,” Sept. 18).
This, however, in no way should obfuscate or distract from the antisemitic statements and actions by Ms. Sarsour and other founding…
Major Platforms’ Midterm Election Policies: Are They Enough?
Article
Summary
The United States midterm electoral campaigns are in full force as candidates prepare advertisements and voter outreach. Social media is an integral part of their campaigning as more than half of all Americans get news from a social media platform.
But false or misleading information (including misinformation, spread without malice or coordination, and disinformation, purposely created to manipulate or cause harm) runs rampant on platforms, subverting democracy and leading…
Remarks by Jonathan Greenblatt to the Inter-Parliamentary Task Force to Combat Online Antisemitism
News
Good evening and thank you for being a part of this important gathering of the Inter-Parliamentary Task Force to Combat Online Antisemitism.
I’m delighted to see so many friends in this room tonight. I want to particularly thank Task Force co-chairs U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Canadian Member of Parliament Anthony Housefather for organizing this critically important summit that challenges us to ask hard questions about the evolution and proliferation of online antisemitism…
How A Texas Teen Turned Bias and Body-Shaming into Advocacy and Action
Article
Olivia Julianna (who uses only her first and middle name publicly to protect her privacy) has been an activist for several years, advocating voting rights and reproductive-health care. Like many in her generation, she found the political side of TikTok where young people post about important issues facing them. Olivia is involved with Gen-Z for Change, a nonprofit organization leveraging social media to promote civil discourse and political action on a variety of topics including…
New IFB Pastors Use YouTube Shorts to Increase Viewership and Engagement
Article
UPDATE 8/18: Following ADL's investigation, YouTube terminated both the First Works Baptist Church and Verity Baptist Church channels.
In recent months, pastors affiliated with the virulently antisemitic and anti-LGBTQ+ New Independent Fundamental Baptist (New IFB) movement have taken advantage of YouTube Shorts, significantly expanding the reach of their hateful content. Using this relatively new social media tool, some New IFB pastors have increased the average viewership on their…
Swatting is the deliberate and malicious act of reporting a false crime or emergency to evoke an aggressive response (often a SWAT team) from a law enforcement agency to a target's residence or place of work to harass and intimidate them.
Alarmingly, swatting appears to be on the rise. Kevin Kolbye, a former FBI agent with expertise in swatting, estimates incidents have jumped from 400 cases in 2011 to over 1,000 in 2019. Unfortunately, the actual number is unknown because the FBI does not…
Radical Anti-Israel Candidates in the 2022 Primaries
Article
During the 2022 primary season, a significant number of candidates espousing anti-Israel views are running for office across the country. Some have engaged in inflammatory or antisemitic rhetoric related to Israel. As the primary elections enter their final weeks, voters have voiced their preferences at the ballot box for many of these candidates, and most have lost. While their defeat may reflect a rejection of their views by the electorate, strong showings by some radical anti-Israel…
Letter to Twitter regarding Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s chronic violations of Twitter’s terms
Letter
Jonathan Greenblatt
CEO and National Director
July 27, 2022
Dear Mr. Agrawal,
I am once again reaching out regarding Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s chronic violations of Twitter’s terms of service on his accounts of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. We ask that you de-platform him for his continued use of Twitter to promote antisemitism, hate, violence and Holocaust denial.
As I wrote in January 2021 to then Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Khamenei…
Anti-Israel Activists Co-opt American Tragedies to Target Israel
Article
This spring and summer, as headlines across the United States have focused on urgent issues like the dangers of gun violence and threats to reproductive care, prominent anti-Israel groups and individuals have sought to tether these American issues to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, doubling down on anti-Zionist tropes and false accusations against the state of Israel.
These groups include Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), both of which…
President Biden’s Visit to Israel Sees Uptick in Anti-Zionist Rhetoric
Article
U.S. President Joe Biden, who is currently visiting Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and Saudi Arabia, reiterated the strong friendship and strategic alliance between Israel and the United States, paid tribute to Holocaust survivors, and even self-identified as a Zionist, at a time when the term is being demonized by Israel’s detractors.
Outraged by this show of support for the Jewish State, individuals and groups in the anti-Israel movement in the United States assailed President…
Twitter’s Failure to Enforce Its Policy Against Antisemitism
Article
An investigation from ADL’s Center for Technology and Society (CTS) found Twitter did not remove over 200 blatantly antisemitic tweets accusing Jewish people of pedophilia, invoking Holocaust denial, and sharing oft-repeated conspiracy theories. To test Twitter’s enforcement of its policies on antisemitism, CTS reported 225 strongly antisemitic tweets over nine weeks through ongoing communications with the platform. Of the reported tweets, Twitter only removed 11, or 5% of the…
ADL Letter to Iceland's Minister for Foreign Affairs Regarding the Mapping Project
Letter
July 13, 2022
In a letter to Iceland's Minister for Foreign Affairs, ADL urged the government to take immediate action against the antisemitic "Mapping Project," which is currently being hosted on the web by an Iceland-based provider. H.E. Thórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörd Gylfadóttir
Minister for Foreign Affairs
Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Rauðarárstíg 25
105 Reykjavík
Dear Minister Reykfjörd Gylfadóttir,
…
Repeat Liars: Falsehoods Around Buffalo Shooting and the 2020 Election
Article
Whether it is about a global pandemic, the 2020 presidential election, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, or the latest mass shooting, lies continue to thrive on social media platforms. According to a 2021 poll by the Pew Research Center, nearly half of Americans get their news from social media. While many people feel confident in their media literacy, YouGov found that only 4% of those surveyed could correctly distinguish false news stories from true ones.
In order to assess platforms…
ADL Letter to Iceland Web Hosting Service "1984" Regarding the Mapping Project
Letter
June 18, 2022
In an email correspondence to "1984.is", a web hosting service based in Iceland, ADL urged the company to remove the antisemitic "Mapping Project" immediately. To whom it may concern,
I am writing on an urgent basis from the Anti-Defamation League, a US nongovernmental organization.
A website, https://mapliberation.org/, has apparently relocated to your hosting service after being removed from its previous hosts for doxing. Specifically, the site…
PFLP and Press TV Support for Mapping Project Reflective of Broad Anti-Zionist Trends
Article
The Mapping Project, an antisemitic website that calls for the “dismantling” of organizations key to the infrastructure of the Massachusetts Jewish community, has garnered broad support from U.S. State Department-designated terror group Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and Iranian government-controlled Press TV. This endorsement is representative of an entrenched dynamic via which PFLP, Press TV and some U.S. anti-Zionist activists offer mutual support,…